Game machine with touch panel display

ABSTRACT

A game machine with a display which serves as a touch panel type input is provided. The game machine includes a character display for displaying at least two characters on a screen of the display. A finger contact detector detects a contact between a fingertip of a player and the screen. A cursor movement controller locates a cursor on the basis of a coordinate position of the fingertip when the finger contact detector detects the contact. The cursor movement controller controls movement of the cursor on the basis of movement of the coordinate position. A character selector sets a character, with which the cursor is contacted, to a selection state. The character becomes a controlled object when a predetermined selection fixed operation is received, and the character selector keeps the selection state of the character when the fingertip is released.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/014,949, filed Aug. 30, 2013, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/548,331,filed on Jul. 13, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,547,357 issued Oct. 1, 2013,which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/727,293, filed on Mar. 19, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,648,817 issuedFeb. 11, 2014, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of JapanesePat. Appl. No. 2009-069999, filed on Mar. 23, 2009. The disclosures ofthese documents, including the specifications, drawings, and claims, areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a portable game machine with a touch paneldisplay wherein a display screen is touch panel input means.

BACKGROUND ART

In the specification, “a portable game machine” includes a portablemultifunction terminal having functions, such as a portable phoneterminal, and a portable music/image reproduction terminal, throughwhich a game can be also enjoyed, in addition to a machine dedicated forgames.

The portable game machine has such a strong inclination that a touchpanel type of input portion using a screen of the display is used ratherthan a keyboard type in order to obtain the display having the broadestdisplay area. As a general instance of the touch panel, the touch paneldisclosed in a first prior art is known.

PRIOR ART

Japanese patent application publication No. 2008-148860

Problems to be Solved by Invention

In such a case, the player selects an object shown on the display, suchas an icon and a command, by contacting a proper position of a screen ofthe display through his finger so as to input something in the portablegame machine. A size of the display of the portable game machine is notso big in comparison with the size of the finger. If the player contactsthe screen of the display for selection of the object shown on thedisplay, the object that the player tries to select is hidden by hisfinger, and does not know what is selected. When the object is displayedat a position contacting the finger and the screen of the display, thedisplayed object is hidden by the finger and the player is difficult toknow what is shown.

Even if the player tries to move the object to a proper position on thedisplay, the object is below his finger, and the player does not knowthe correct position of the object on the display. For this reason, theplayer should repeat such an operation, and may lose an interest on thegame thereby.

Then, the object of the invention to provide a portable game machinewith a touch panel type display, wherein the selection or the display ofthe object is not hindered by the finger of the player even in a smalldisplay having a touch panel type input function, and it is possible tocorrectly move and position the object.

Means for Solving Problems

A first aspect of the invention is a portable game machine with adisplay which also serves as a touch panel input portion, comprising:

finger contact detecting means, for detecting a contact between a fingerof a player and a screen of said display;

finger position computing means, for computing a coordinate position ofsaid finger on said screen;

object display position computing means, for computing and determining acoordinate position where an object to be displayed on said display isdisplayed relatively to said computed coordinate position of said fingerso as to separate a predetermined distance from said coordinate positionof said finger on said display and to create a gap between said objectdisplayed on said display and a periphery of said finger contacted withsaid screen; and

object display means, for displaying said object at said coordinateposition on said display which has been computed and determined.

A second aspect of the invention is the portable game machine with thetouch panel display, wherein said finger position computing meansrepeatedly computes the coordinate position of said finger on saidscreen at constant intervals, and said object display position computingmeans computes and determines the coordinate position of said object tobe displayed according to a change of said computed coordinate positionof said finger position so as to always keep said relative positionalrelation to the coordinate position of said finger.

A third aspect of the invention is a portable game machine with adisplay which also serves as a touch panel input portion, comprising:

object selection means, for selecting and determining an object to bemoved on a field that is displayed on a display based upon a contactoperation with said display by a player;

finger contact detecting means, for detecting a contact between a fingerof said player and a screen of said display;

finger position computing means, for repeatedly computing a coordinateposition of said finger on said screen at constant intervals;

relative position computing means, for computing a relative positionalrelation between said computed coordinate position of said finger andsaid object selected by said object selection means;

display form change means, for changing a display form on said displayin order to easily recognize said position of said object on said fieldselected by said object selection means;

object display position computing means, for computing and determiningthe coordinate position of said selected object to be displayedaccording to a change of said computed coordinate position of saidfinger so as to always keep said relative positional relation to thecoordinate position of said finger; and

object display means, for displaying said selected object at saidcoordinate position on said display computed and determined, changing adisplay form through said display form change means.

A fourth aspect of the invention is the portable game machine with thetouch panel display, wherein said display form change means has objectseparation display means, and said object separation display meansdivides said object into a cursor and an object body if said fingercontact detecting means detects a contact between said finger and saidscreen, and locates said cursor at said coordinate position where saidobject has been located as it is, and locates said object body at aperiphery of said cursor and displays it.

A fifth aspect of the invention is the portable game machine with thetouch panel display, wherein said display form change means displayssaid object in a semi-transparent state if said finger contact detectingmeans detects a contact between said finger and said screen.

Effects of Invention

According to the first aspect of the invention, at the time of displayof the object, the object is displayed separating from a periphery ofthe finger that contacts with the screen of the display through the gap(SP), so that there is no such a situation that the player does not knowwhat is shown due to a hindrance of the object by the finger, and it ispossible to provide the portable game machine having a good visibility.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the object isdisplayed, always keeping a constant relative position to the fingereven if the finger is slidably moved on the screen, so that it ispossible to provide the portable game machine having a good visibilityin connection with the object even if the finger is moved. Besides, itis possible to correctly select the other object, such as the character(CR), making use of the object, such as the cursor (CS), with nohindrance by the finger.

According to the third aspect of the invention, if the finger contactswith the display screen (3 a), a display form of the selected object ischanged, so that it is possible to easily recognize the position of theobject on the field. Even if the position of the finger is slidablymoved on the screen, the object is controlled to be moved, keeping therelative positional relation between the finger and the object. For thisreason, it is possible to always keep the object at the position wherethe player can easily recognize the object. Therefore, it is possible tocorrectly move and position the object.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the object isdisplayed, separating the cursor (CS) and the object body (PC) from eachother, so that the position of the cursor (CS) on the field (FLD) can becorrectly recognized with no hindrance by the object body.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the object is displayedin a semi-transparent state, so that the field (FLD) can be recognizedthrough the object and the position of the object on the field (FLD) canbe correctly recognized.

The number in parentheses shows the corresponding element in thedrawings for the sake of convenience, accordingly, the descriptions arenot restricted and bound by the descriptions on the drawings. Besides,the scope of the invention is not restricted by the descriptions of thedrawings. The scope of the invention is designated based upon technicalideas shown in the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable game machine to which theinvention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a typical view that shows an instance of a display form in adisplay of the portable game machine.

FIG. 3 is a typical view that shows another instance of the display formin the portable game machine.

FIG. 4 is a typical view that shows another alternate instance of thedisplay form in the portable game machine.

An embodiment of the invention is now explained, referring to appendeddrawings.

FIG. 1 shows a portable game machine, as a game machine comprising acomputer. As shown in FIG. 2, the portable game machine 1 has a mainbody 2, a portable housing, and the main body 2 is provided with adisplay 3. The display 3 also serves as a touch panel input portion 5also, and a player selects various kinds of objects displayed on ascreen 3 a of the display 3, such as a cursor, an icon and a character,by pushing the objects down with his finger in order to get the portablegame machine 1 to do various kinds of processing corresponding to theobjects. A method of inputting of a touch panel type is not mentionedsince it is already known. In a case of the portable game machine 1, alldata is inputted by touching the screen 3 a of the display 3 through afinger.

As shown in FIG. 2, the portable game machine 1 has a main controlportion 6, and the main control portion 6 contacts with the touch panelinputting portion 5, a display control portion 9, the display 3, acursor movement control portion 10, a character selection judgingportion 11, a character movement control portion 12, a game executioncontrol portion 13, a finger movement detecting portion 15 and a memory16 through a bus line 6. All such structural elements are provided atthe main body 2, and carrying of the main body 2 by a player meanscarrying of the portable game machine 1. The block diagram of FIG. 1exemplarily shows only portions pertinent to the invention, and allstructural elements of the actual portable game machine 1 are not shownin the figure. In this embodiment, the display control portion 9comprises object display means, and the cursor movement control portion10 comprises object display position computing means and objectselection means in attached claims. And, the character selection judgingportion 11 comprises object selection means and relative positioncomputing means in the attached claims, and the character movementcontrol portion 12 comprises display form change means, object displayposition computing means and object separation display means in theattached claims. Furthermore, the finger movement detecting portion 15comprises finger contact detecting means, finger position computingmeans and object selection means in the attached claims.

In the portable game machine 1 as shown in FIG. 2, actually, a computerexecutes predetermined program read out of a memory (not shown) storingthe program therein, through which a CPU (not shown) or a memorytime-dividedly operates by a multi-task and executes functions shown inrespective blocks as shown in FIG. 1. But, the portable game machine 1may be comprised of hardware corresponding to respective blocks, andeach block may be controlled by a CPU or a MPU that is separatelyprovided for each block.

When a player plays a game with the portable game machine 1 having theabove-mentioned structure, the player instructs to start the gamethrough operation of the touch panel input portion 5 as shown in FIG. 1.Receiving such an instruction, the main control portion 6 instructs thegame execution control portion 13 to execute the game, and the gameexecution control portion 13 reads predetermined program GPR out of thememory 16 and execute such program.

The game according to the game program GPR includes an operation by aplayer of positioning the cursor CS that is comprised of an object inthe attached claims at a proper position in a two-dimensional field FLOon the display, as shown in FIG. 2, for instance. This operation isgenerally executed in such a way that the player presses an optionalposition on the display 3 so that the cursor CS can appear on the screen3 a, and drags the finger as it is to a desired position on the screen 3a. A control for moving and positioning the cursor CS of the portablegame machine 1 according to the invention is now mentioned.

In a case where a player selects a desired character CR from one or morecharacters CR displayed on the display 3 and instructs the game machine1 to determine the selected character, the player firstly puts hisfinger 19 on an optional position on the screen 3 a of the display 3,contacting his fingertip 19 a with the screen 3 a. When the fingertip 19a is located on the screen 3 a, the finger movement detecting portion 15detects a contact between the finger 19 and the screen 3 a and informsthe cursor movement control portion 10 of the contact and its coordinateposition P1. The cursor movement control portion 10 asks the characterselection judging portion 11 whether or not the player presently selectsa specific character CR. In such a state, a specific character CR is notyet selected, so that the character selection judging portion 11 informsthe cursor movement control portion 10 of no selection of the characterCR by the player.

Receiving this notification, the cursor movement control portion 10computes and determines a coordinate position P2 that is a predetermineddistance L1 away from the fingertip 19 a, on an upper hand in FIG. 2 (Inthis case, “the upper hand” is not necessary to be accurate +directionin X-axis direction of the coordinate position P1 of the screen 3 a ofthe display 3 where the fingertip 19 a is presently located, andinstructs the display control portion 9 to locate a semi-transparentcursor CS at the coordinate position P2. Receiving this instruction, thedisplay control portion 9 displays the cursor CS at the coordinateposition P2 on the screen 3 a of the display 3, as shown in FIG. 2. Thecursor CS is displayed a predetermined distance away from the fingertip19 a of the player on the upper hand (+direction in X-axis direction) onthe screen 3 a, so that there is no such situation that the player doesnot easily know the position of the cursor CS on the screen 3 a sincethe cursor CS is displayed below his own fingertip 19 a. The distance L1is a value that is set in advance in a memory (not shown) in the cursormovement control portion 10, and is set so as to perceive the top end ofthe fingertip 19 a located on the screen 3 a and the cursor CS for theplayer, clearly separating both from each other (for instance, so as tocreate 1 cm or so of a gap SP on the screen 3 a).

The above-mentioned case refers to such a case that the object, such asthe cursor CS, is displayed at the position a predetermined distanceaway from the fingertip of the player in +direction in X-axis (upperhand of the screen 3 a of the display), that is, so as to form a gap SPbetween the top end of the fingertip 19 a of the player and an image ofthe object. But, the relative position of the object to the fingertip 19a is not always on upper hand of the screen 3 a of the display, but maybe in any direction around the fingertip 19 a as long as the gap SP isformed between a periphery of the finger 19 and the object and theplayer can perceive the position of the object without being interruptedby the fingertip 19.

After thus displaying the cursor CS on the display 20 a, the playermoves his fingertip 19 a on the screen 3 a for a coordinate position P3where the character CR that he wishes to select is displayed while thefingertip 3 a being contacted with the screen 3 a. The finger movementdetecting portion 15 repeatedly computes the coordinate position P1where the fingertip 19 a contacts with the display 20 a at predeterminedintervals, watching a contact state between the fingertip 19 a and thescreen 3 a, and outputs the computed to the cursor movement controlportion 10 at predetermined intervals. The cursor movement controlportion 10 computes and determines the display position P2 of the cursorCS based upon a change of the coordinate position P1 of the fingertip 19a outputted from the finger movement detecting portion 15 so that thecursor CS can always be the distance L1 away from the coordinateposition P1 in +direction in X-axis, and instructs the display controlportion 9 to display the cursor CS at the display position P2.

By doing so, the display control portion 9 always displays the cursor CSat the position P2 a predetermined distance away from the fingertip 19 aof the player in the upper hand. As the player moves his fingertip 19 aon the screen 3 a for the coordinate position P3 where the character CRis displayed, the cursor is moved and displayed in the direction of thecoordinate position P3, keeping a direction parallel to the movementdirection of the fingertip 19 a so as to synchronize with such amovement of the fingertip. Then, the cursor CS is moved, always beingdisplayed on the upper hand from the top end of the fingertip 19 a ofthe player through a gap SP, so that the player can correctly recognizethe present position of the cursor CS, regardless of the movement of hisfingertip 19 a.

The cursor movement control portion 10 computes and determines thecoordinate position P2 of the cursor CS, keeping a constant positionalrelation with respect to the coordinate position P1 of the presentfingertip on the display, that is, maintaining the relative position ona X-Y coordinate. Therefore, even if in some setting, the cursor CS isnot in +X-axis direction of the fingertip 19 a (for instance, in such asetting that the cursor CS is on a side in + or − Y-axis direction ofthe fingertip 19 a), the cursor CS is controlled to be displayedfollowing slidable movement of the fingertip 19 a on the screen 3 athrough the gap SP.

When the player thus moves his fingertip 19 a in the direction of thecharacter CR to be selected, in the left lower direction of FIG. 2 onthe screen 3 a, the cursor CS is displayed, also being moved close tothe character CR in the left lower direction of FIG. 2 together with themovement of his fingertip. FIG. 2 shows only one body of the characterCR for easy understanding, but one or more different characters CR areactually displayed on the display 20 a. The player moves his fingertip19 a on the screen 3 a, confirming the position of the cursor CS formaking the cursor CS gradually close to the character CR that he wishesto select. Finally, the cursor CS is contacted with the image of thecharacter CR displayed on the display 20 a.

Then, the cursor movement control portion 10 detects a contact betweensome character CR displayed on the display 20 a and the cursor CS, andinforms the character selection judging portion 11. Receiving thisnotification, the character selection judging portion 11 specifies thecharacter CR contacted with the cursor CS. Name of the character CR thatis located by the game execution control portion 13 on the display 20 aand its coordinate position are notified from the game execution controlportion 13 to the cursor movement control portion 10 and the characterselection judging portion 11. For this reason, it is possible for thecursor movement control portion 10 to easily detect the contact betweenthe cursor CS and the character CR and for the character selectionjudging portion 11 to easily specify the character CR contacted with thecursor CS.

When name of the character CR contacted with the cursor CS and itscoordinate position P3 are thus specified, the character selectionjudging portion 11 displays through the display control portion 9 on animage of the character CR, selected by contacting through the player, acircular selection mark SM which center is the semi-transparent cursorCS which is located under the image of the character CR. By such aselection mark SM, the player can recognize the selection of thecharacter CR that is contacted with the cursor CS by his own on thescreen of the display 20 a. When the character CR being selected, theplayer removes his fingertip 19 a from the screen 3 a, but such aselection state is maintained and display of the selection mark SMcontinues. The cursor movement control portion 10 and the charactermovement control portion 12 is notified of the character CR that wasjudged to have been selected by the character selection judging portion11.

Even if the cursor movement control portion 10 detects the contactbetween the cursor CS and the image of the character CR displayed on thedisplay 20 a and the selection mark SM is displayed on the image of thecharacter CR, the selection of the character CR is not immediatelydetermined. This is because the cursor CS may be inadvertently contactedwith the image of the character CR displayed on the screen that theplayer does not intend to select while moving the cursor CS by theplayer when the images of two or more characters CR are displayed on thedisplay 20 a.

Whenever the contact between the cursor CS and the image of thecharacter CR displayed on the display 20 a is detected, the characterselection judging portion 11 displays the selection mark SM for theimage of the character the contact of which was detected, but, theselection of the character CR is not fixed as long as the player doesnot remove his fingertip 19 a from the screen 3 a during displaying ofthe selection mark SM for the character CR. In other words, thecharacter selection judging portion 11 keeps the character CR in aprovisional selection state.

In a case where the player further moves his fingertip 19 a on thescreen 3 a without removing from the screen 3 a and with such amovement, the cursor CS is away from the image of the character CR withwhich the cursor CS has contacted, the cursor movement control portion10 detects a release of the contact between the cursor CS and thecharacter CR, and informs the character selection judging portion 11 ofsuch a detection. Receiving such a notification, the character selectionjudging portion 11 releases display of the selection mark SM which hasbeen displayed on a periphery of the character CR, and releases theprovisional selection state of the character CR for changing into apre-selection state.

A condition for fixing the selection of the character CR by the playerthrough the character selection judging portion 11 is that the fingertip19 a of the player is removed from the screen 3 a in a state theselection mark SM is displayed for the character CR. If the fingertip 19a of the player is removed from the screen 3 a, the finger movementdetecting portion 15 detects remove from the fingertip 19 a from thescreen 3 a and the character selection judging portion 11 fixes theselection of the character CR on which the selection mark SM isdisplayed on such a point of time as the character CR selected by theplayer and informs the character movement control portion 12 of thecharacter CR as the character the selection of which was fixed by theplayer, that is, as the character CR that is a subject for movementcontrol by the character movement control portion 12.

Even in such a case where the cursor CS is moved for the character CR tobe selected when selecting the character CR, it is possible to move thecursor CS to the position where the desired character CR is displayed,watching the cursor CS displayed on the upper hand from the top end ofthe fingertip 19 a of the player through the gap SP, and the cursor CScan be accurately contacted with the desired character CR thereby. Thisis especially effective if two or more other characters CR are locatedin groups at a periphery of the desired character CR and it is necessaryto move the cursor CS to the position where the desired character CR isdisplayed by moving the cursor CS on the screen 3 a avoiding thesecharacters CR.

When the player thus selected the character CR and moves the characterselected by his own from the position P3 as shown in FIG. 3 to aposition P3′ on the field FLO, synchronizing with the movement of hisfingertip 19 a (Such a movement is referred to as “drag movement”hereinafter), the player contacts his fingertip 19 a with a properposition on the screen 3 a of the display 20 a. On such an occasion, theplayer considers the position P3 where the character CR is presentlydisplayed and the position P3′ to which the character CR should be movedfrom now on so as to select the position where it is possible to observeboth positions P3 and P3′ and the field FLO between both positions P3and P3′, such as position P4 of FIG. 3, and the fingertip 19 a iscontacted with the position P4.

If the character CR to be moved is not already selected, that is, if theselection mark SM is not located on the character CR, the selection markSM may be located and displayed on the image of the character CR throughthe display control portion 9 in such a way that the player directlytouches the image of the character CR displayed on the screen 3 a so asto detect the coordinate position of the touched fingertip 19 a throughthe finger movement detecting portion 15, and the character selectionjudging portion 11 detects a correspondence between the detectedcoordinate position of the fingertip 19 a and the coordinate position ofthe character CR displayed on the screen 3 a so as to judge theselection of the character CR by the player, as another method ratherthan the method by moving the cursor CS so as to contact the characterCR.

When the fingertip 19 a of the player is contacted with the screen 3 a,the finger movement detecting portion 15 detects the contact between thefingertip 19 a of the player and the screen 3 a. If the contact betweenthe fingertip 19 a and the screen 3 a continues over a constant time,such as 0.1 second, the drag movement of the character CR is judged tobe instructed, and such a judgment is informed to the character movementcontrol portion 12. Receiving this notification, the character movementcontrol portion 12 displays the image of the character CR by separatingthe semi-transparent cursor CS and the image of the character body (theobject body) PC from each other for the character CR (on which theselection mark SM is shown) which was selected by the player and whichselection was determined by the character selection judging portion 11,as shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the cursor CS that shows theposition P3 of the selected character CR is displayed at the coordinateposition P3 where the character CR is originally located as it is, andthe image PC of the character body (the object body) is displayed at thecoordinate position P5 on upper hand of the cursor CS, that is,predetermined distance L2 away from the cursor in the +X-axis directionso as to separate both from each other. The image PC of the characterbody is not always located on the upper hand of the cursor CS, but maybe located at any position of the periphery of the cursor CS as long assuch a position corresponds to the cursor CS.

Then, the character CR selected by the player is displayed on the fieldFLO through the gap SP so that the image PC of the character body riseson the cursor CS. The character CR in the selection state is displayed,separating the cursor CS that shows the position of the character CR andthe image PC of the character body that shows the character CR itselffrom each other, so that the player can easily recognize the correctposition of the character CR on the field FLO by the semi-transparentcursor CS. In such a case, in order for the player to easily recognizethe correct position of the character CR on the field FLO through thecursor CS, the character CR is displayed, separating the cursor CS andthe image PC of the character body from each other. For this reason, itis not always to display the character CR separating the cursor CS andthe image PC of the character body as long as the player can easilyrecognize the position of the character CR on the field FLO. Forinstance, when contacting the fingertip 19 a of the player on the screen3 a, the character body movement control portion 12 can increase thetransparency in the display of the character CR for making itsemi-transparent so as to recognize the position of the field FLOdisplayed beneath thereof, looking through the image of the characterCR.

After thus selected character CR is displayed, separating the cursor Cand the character body image PC, the fingertip 19 a of the player ismoved for the position P4′, sliding on the screen 3 a. In such a case,the finger movement detecting portion 15 always computes and detects thecoordinate position of the fingertip 19 a on the screen 3 a, and informsthe cursor movement control portion 10 and the character body movementcontrol portion 12 of the computed result. And, the cursor movementcontrol portion 10 computes and stores a relative positional relation ofthe coordinate position P3 of the character CR to the coordinateposition P4 at the time when the fingertip 19 a of the player firstlycontacts the screen 3 a as a distance on X-Y coordinate X, Y=(L4, L3).By moving the fingertip 19 a on the screen 3 a, the coordinate of thecursor CS to be displayed is determined such that the relativepositional relation between the fingertip 19 a and the character CR canalways be the distance X, Y=(L4, L3), and is displayed through thedisplay control portion 9.

On the other hand, the character movement control portion 12 computesand determines the position of the character body image PC so as toposition it at a position a predetermined distance L2 in the upper handof FIG. 3 away from the cursor CS that moves keeping a constant distanceX, Y=(L4, L3) on the screen 3 a and the display control portion 9displays the computed position. By doing so, the character body image PCis displayed on the display 3 rising on the upper hand of the cursor CSthrough the gap SP.

If the player slidably moves his fingertip 19 a for the position P4′ onthe screen 3 a in the afore-mentioned state, the character CR isdisplayed such that the cursor CS of the character CR and the characterbody image PC moves on the field FLO, parallel to movement trace TR ofthe fingertip 19 a, as shown in FIG. 3. And, the cursor CS is alwaysdisplayed separated from the fingertip 19 a of the player apredetermined distance X, Y=(L3, L3). For this reason, the character CRis displayed, separating the cursor CS that shows the present positionof the character CR and the character body image PC displayed thereon(+direction in X-axis), and the position of the character CR on thefield FLO that is moving can be clearly recognized by the cursor CS withno interference from the character body image PC, so that the characterCR can be correctly moved and positioned at the coordinate position P3′.

When the character CR reaches the coordinate position P3′, the fingertip19 a of the player is away from the screen 3 a. Then, the fingermovement detecting portion 15 detects separation of the fingertip 19 aof the player from the screen 3 a, and informs the character movementcontrol portion 12 of such a separation. Receiving this notification,the character movement control portion 12 returns the character bodyimage PC that has been displayed floating over the cursor CS onto thecursor CS. Then, the image of the character CR returns to the imagesimilar to a normal image of the character CR in the position P3 of FIG.2 where the cursor CS and the character body image PC are united witheach other.

When the player touches a determination button (not shown) that is shownat a proper position on the screen 3 a of the display 3, the position ofthe character CR located at the position P3′ is fixed to be determined,and the game execution control portion 13 recognizes that the characterCR was located at the coordinate position P3′ which was fixed to bedetermined by a dragging movement and advances the game on the basis ofthis recognition. If the determination button is touched, the selectionstate of the character CR that has been in the selection state by theplayer is released and the character selection judging portion 11 stopsdisplaying the selection mark SM which has enclosed the character CR.

If the character CR that is enclosed by the selection mark SM and is inthe selection state is promptly moved from the coordinate position P3 toa position near the coordinate position P6, for instance, as show inFIG. 4, the fingertip 19 a of the player is momentarily contacted on thescreen 3 a of the coordinate position P7 rather lower than thecoordinate position P6 to which the character CR should be moved. Then,the finger movement detecting portion 15 detects the contact of thefingertip 19 a of the player with the screen 3 a, and at the same time,judges that the contact of the fingertip 19 a on the screen 3 a isshorter than a predetermined time, such as 0.1 second. Then, thefingertip movement detecting portion 15 judges that a momentary movementof the character CR is instructed, and informs the character movementcontrol portion 12 of this judgment.

Receiving this notification, the character movement control portion 12computes and determines the display position of the object of thecharacter CR that has been displayed at the coordinate position P3 (thecursor CS and the image PC of the character body) as the coordinateposition P6 on the upper hand of the coordinate position P7 of thefingertip 19 a in FIG. 4, that is, a distance L4 away in +X-axisdirection, and instructs the display control portion 9 to move thecharacter CR to such a position and display it. Receiving thisinstruction, the display control portion 9 moves the image of thecharacter CR that has been displayed at the coordinate position P3 tothe coordinate position P6 and displays it at such a position. In thiscase, the image of the character CR is momentarily moved. For thisreason, the player feels no stress due to the movement of the characterCR.

Besides, the image of the character CR at the time of momentary movementis displayed in +X-axis direction of the fingertip 19 a of the player,that is, on the upper hand of the screen 3 a through the gap SP on thefield FLD, and the position of the character CR after the movement canbe easily recognized with no hindrance from the position of thefingertip 19 a of the player thereby.

If the player touches the determination button (not shown) which isdisplayed at a proper position on the screen 3 a of the display 3 in theafore-mentioned state, the position of the character CR located at theposition P6 is fixed to be determined, and the game execution controlportion 13 understands that the character CR was located at thedetermined coordinate position P6 by the momentary movement and advancesthe game thereafter. When touching the determination button, theselection state of the character CR that has been in the selection stateby the player is released, and the character selection judging portion11 stops displaying the selection mark SM that has enclosed thecharacter CR.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game machine with a display, the displayserving as a touch panel type input, a player of the game machine beingable to select a specific character from at least two characters so asto control movement of the selected specific character, the game machinecomprising: a character display for displaying the at least twocharacters on a screen of the display so that the player can select thespecific character; a finger contact detector for detecting a contactbetween a fingertip of the player and the screen of the display; acursor movement controller for locating a cursor on the basis of acoordinate position of the fingertip on the screen when the fingercontact detector detects the contact, the cursor movement controllercontrolling movement of the cursor on the basis of movement of thecoordinate position of the fingertip; and a character selector forsetting a character, with which the cursor is contacted, to a selectionstate, the character becoming a controlled object when a predeterminedselection fixed operation is received, the character selector keepingthe selection state of the character when the fingertip of the player isreleased from the screen.
 2. The game machine according to claim 1,wherein the character selector displays a selection mark on an image ofthe character that becomes the selection state.
 3. The game machineaccording to claim 1, wherein the game machine is a portable gamemachine.
 4. The game machine according to claim 1, further comprising: afinger position computer for computing the coordinate position of thefingertip on the screen, wherein the cursor movement controller detectsa predetermined positional relation between the coordinate position ofthe fingertip computed by the finger position computer and a coordinateposition of the character.
 5. The game machine according to claim 1,further comprising: a character controller for controlling thecharacter, for which the selection state is fixed, in accordance with anoperation to contact with the fingertip of the player on the display.